Strange Stories for Strange Kids (see 'Strange Stories'), the second Little Lit comics anthology edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, was featured twice on the Today Show recently. The first mention was delivered by a representative of Harper Collins who donated a number of books including Strange Stories to the Today Show Holiday Toy Drive. When the rep mentioned that Art Spiegelman was the editor, Al Roker's face lit up with recognition as he remarked 'He's the guy who did Maus, isn't he?' The book got a lot more attention when Gene Shalit, the Today Show's resident movie critic (and curmudgeon), featured it prominently in his 'Holiday Book List.' Shalit showed the cover and praised the book and mentioned several of the creators involved.
Strange Stories for Strange Kids has been featured on more than a few checklists of holiday books. Last year the first volume in the Little Lit series was a bestseller at a number of pop culture stores (see 'Little Lit Sells Big') and both volumes are available for this holiday season. Given the importance of introducing kids to the pleasures of reading comics, these volumes should be in stock at all full line pop culture shops.
This season has presented retailers with an unprecedented number of quality trade paperback and hardcover comic collections. In addition to Strange Stories, Art Spiegelman's excellent book on Plastic Man artist Jack Cole is also new this year, and of course there are the stunning DC Plastic Man Archives editions, which anyone who is seriously interested in comics should own, along with the brilliant Spirit Archives by Will Eisner. The DC Bizarro book has a wide appeal across the full spectrum of comic readers from superhero fans to those who love alternative titles. The Collectors Press has released a number of lavishly-illustrated high-end titles including Fantasy of the Twentieth Century, Pulp Culture, and the History of Mystery (see 'A Bumper Crop of Retro Art Books') -- and don't forget Dark Horse's Blast Off, a superbly illustrated compendium of space toys and ray guns. Then of course there is the extremely ambitious list of titles from Fantagraphics Books (see 'Fantagraphics Presents Strong Line at the BEA'), not to mention the ever-increasing number of comic book compilations and manga trades. All in all there have never been as many pop culture-related gift books available for holiday giving as there are this year.
